Dr. Bill Simmons, ACES Honors Dean (2005-Present)
Dr. Bill Simmons, Assistant Dean, ACES Academic Programs
(Photo Credit: ACES ITCS)
Dr. Bill Simmons, a native of New England, received his B.S. degree in Soil Science and Hydrology from the University of New Hampshire. He went on to earn an M.S. degree in Soil Science from Oregon State University and a Ph.D. in Soil Physics from North Carolina State University. He joined the University of Illinois faculty in 1987 and has had an outstanding career in teaching, research, and extension education.
Dr. Simmons succeeded Dr. Wayne Banwart (see below) as the ACES Honors Dean on September 1, 2005 and is currently serving as an Assistant Dean in ACES Academic Programs. His teaching responsibilities include ACES 101: Contemporary Issues in ACES, ACES 200: ACES Transfer Orientation, and ACES 199 JS: Honors Seminar. Prior to his arrival in Academic Programs, he served as the NRES Department's Associate Head and Undergraduate Program Coordinator.
During summer 2006, Dean Simmons was promoted to the rank of Full Professor in the Department of NRES. Shortly thereafter, Interim Associate Dean Banwart enrolled him as a member of the prestigious ACES Academy of Teaching Excellence.
Dean Simmons describes his staff's workspace -- the "North Annex" of 104 Mumford Hall -- as "the place where dreams come true" for ACES James Scholars. He shares the joy of learning with his students and support staff each day, both in the classroom and in the office. His favorite extracurricular activities include spending time with his family and grilling up to 300 nights per annum. During the 2007 holiday season, Dean Simmons (along with two of his sons) appeared in the Krannert Center's annual production of the Nutcracker ballet. He also serves as the College of ACES' gonfalonier at the campus' annual New Student Convocation in August.
Rob Chappell, M.A., Office Support Specialist (2000-Present)
Rob Chappell, University of Illinois Alumnus
(Photo by ACES ITCS)
Rob Chappell grew up in Godfrey and Edwardsville, Illinois and enrolled at the University of Illinois as a freshman in the fall of 1986. He majored in Latin and obtained his B.A. degree in Classical Philology in May 1991 with Bronze Tablet Honors. He also completed an M.A. degree in Germanic Languages and Literatures at the U of I in May 1996.
Rob began his administrative professional career in May 1997 at the University of Illinois' Graduate College, where he managed its Information Office (202 Coble Hall) for three years. He has served as an Office Support Specialist in ACES Academic Programs since April 2000. In addition to shepherding ACES James Scholars as they make progress toward their B.S. degrees, he publishes the Honors Program's two electronic newsletters -- Cursus Honorum (Course of Honors) and Ultreia (Onward!) -- and maintains this website.
Rob has been involved with a diverse array of campus activities over the past several years:
- In April 2005, Rob received the Office Professional of the Year Award from the Secretariat, the campus' administrative professional organization, which was founded in 1948 by Kathryn G. Hansen (UI Class of 1934). He served as President of the Secretariat during its Diamond Jubilee (60th Anniversary) Year: July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008, and he was recently appointed as the first Chair of the Secretariat's newly-formed Legacy of Leadership Committee.
- With the support of Dean Simmons and a dozen enthusiastic students, Rob founded the James Scholar Media Team on February 3, 2006 -- and he has been serving as the club's Advisor ever since.
- During the spring 2007 semester, Rob served as Interim Advisor for the UI Chapter of the Golden Key International Honour Society, into which he was inducted in 1988.
- In spring 2008, Rob started coaching students in the Illinois Leadership Center's certificate program.
- Rob is an enthusiastic member of the Friends of WILL, Japan House, and the UI Library Friends. His extracurricular interests include astronomy, Keltology, and speculative fiction.
Student Worker in the North Annex
Dorothy Spencer -- ACES James Scholar Class of 2010
Agricultural Communications Major
2008 Co-President, James Scholar Media Team
North Annex Student Worker since May 2007
(Photo Credit: Lerin Rives)
Tribute to Dr. Wayne Banwart
ACES Honors Dean (1995-2005)
Interim Associate Dean, ACES Academic Programs (2005-2007)
Dr. Wayne Banwart, Professor Emeritus
Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences (NRES)
(Photo Credit: ACES ITCS)
Dr. Wayne Banwart was born and raised on a small farm in West Bend, Iowa. He attended Iowa State University, where he earned a B.S. degree in Agronomy and M.S. and Ph. D. degrees in Soil Science. He joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in 1975 as an Assistant Professor of Soil Science. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1979 and Full Professor in 1984. His research centered on environmental concerns and included sorption of organics by soils, agricultural effects of acidic deposition, and reclamation of explosives-contaminated soils. He also served as Graduate Program Coordinator and Associate Head of the Agronomy (now the NRES) Department during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Dr. Banwart accepted the position of Assistant Dean for ACES Academic Programs in 1995. His responsibilities included courses and curricula, college honors, and serving as the primary instructor for ACES 101: Contemporary Issues in ACES (which enrolls approximately 500 freshmen each fall). Dr. Banwart served as the ACES Honors Dean from 1995 until his appointment as Interim Associate Dean in September 2005. He presided over the reorganization and revitalization of the Honors Program that began in 1999. Under his leadership, six annual Honors Symposia were held on campus; three student representatives were added to the membership of the Honors Council; over 150 ACES Undergraduate Research Projects were conducted; and the number of ACES James Scholars grew from 97 (in fall 1999) to 250 (in fall 2005). He enthusiastically supported the production of the Honors Program's two electronic newsletters, the compilation of Enchiridion Honorum: The ACES Honors Handbook, and the recent expansion of the ACES James Scholar website, all of which have significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of communication between the students and the administrators of the Honors Program. At the Seventh Annual ACES Honors Symposium in April 2006, Dr. Banwart received the first-ever Honorary ACES James Scholar Award from the Honors Council.
In October 2005, Dr. Banwart received the Secretariat's Boss of the Year Award in recognition of his thirty years of outstanding leadership and service in the College of ACES.
Dr. Banwart (center) receives the 2005 Boss of the Year Award from Carol Phillippe (right), Chairperson of the Boss of the Year Award Committee. Dr. Banwart and Rob Chappell (left) administered the Honors Program together from April 2000 through August 2005. (Photo Credit: Selena Douglass, the Secretariat's Historian)
Dr. Banwart retired from ACES Academic Programs in August 2007. He continues to be involved with the College of ACES as a Professor Emeritus in the NRES Department.